McIntyre wins 7th Congressional District

Thursday

More than three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, the heated and protracted congressional race between U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre and state Sen. David Rouzer is now final.

More than three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, the heated and protracted congressional race between U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre and state Sen. David Rouzer is now final.

In a phone call to McIntyre Wednesday night, Rouzer conceded defeat, meaning McIntyre, the Robeson County Democrat, will serve two more years in Congress.

“Now that the recount has been completed and the tally of votes is official, we can move forward satisfied that each vote was counted properly and accurately,” Rouzer said in a prepared statement. “I have called Congressman McIntyre to congratulate him on a hard-fought victory, and I wish him well as he joins a new Congress that will be dealing with very difficult issues facing our country.”

In his statement, Rouzer acknowledged supporters who encouraged him to run again in 2014, but didn’t say whether he would do so.

“With the Christmas season upon us, I am setting any thoughts of my political future to the side, refocusing on growing my distributorship and consulting businesses while enjoying the farm and the holidays with family and friends,” he said.

McIntyre sent out a statement Wednesday night saying the recount affirmed his victory and thanking his supporters.

“This was a total team victory, and every single person involved played an important role for which my family and I are forever grateful,” he said.

He also thanked Rouzer for his “commitment and dedication to public service” and wished him well in his “future endeavors.”

Rouzer’s decision not to further contest the election results came after a three-day recount in the 12 counties that make up the 7th Congressional District. The recount showed McIntyre with a lead of 654 votes. The initial count, confirmed by the district-wide canvass on Nov. 16, gave the incumbent a 655-vote advantage.

Rouzer called for a recount last week as the vote differential was well within 1 percent of votes cast, the threshold necessary for a taxpayer-funded recount. He also cited an error in the initial reporting of Bladen County’s vote totals on election night, where a precinct McIntyre won was counted twice. The error was caught soon after and the totals corrected.

“In a race this close, accidental human error could easily change the outcome,” Rouzer said in a statement calling for the recount. “It is important to ensure that every legal vote cast is properly and accurately counted.”

At about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Duplin County became the last county to finish its recount. The district’s other counties reported their recount results Monday and Tuesday.

State elections officials have estimated the recount would cost counties in the district a combined $50,000. Some counties had to call in additional part-time workers to help with their counts, which involved feeding paper ballots through machines for a second time.

Under state law, Rouzer could have demanded a hand count of ballots in a small sample of precincts in each county in the district. But he chose not to.

Marvin McFadyen, New Hanover County elections director, said the first recount led to minor changes in vote totals throughout the district. Elections officials in counties with slight variations chalked them up mainly to different machines reading ballots differently.

“You could do that all day long,” McFadyen said of additional recounts. “What are you going to end up with, another one- or two-vote difference?”

McIntyre was first elected in the 7th Congressional District in 1996. He briefly considered a run for the Democratic nomination for governor before deciding to run for re-election this year. This was his closest race in eight re-elections. Two years ago, McIntyre garnered 54 percent of the votes against Ilario Pantano, the author and former Marine from Wilmington who gave McIntyre his toughest challenge up to that point.

Rouzer defeated Pantano in this year’s GOP primary in the newly drawn 7th Congressional District, which includes all of Brunswick and parts of New Hanover and Pender counties. It roughly follows Interstate 40 to the northwest and extends to Johnston County, where Rouzer lives.

Rouzer, a two-term state senator serving his final days in the General Assembly, jumped into the race in July 2011, around the time fellow Republicans were finalizing new congressional district boundaries as part of the once-a-decade redistricting process.

Upon entering the race, Rouzer said the federal government has “steered our country on a dangerous course.”

Pantano said Wednesday he was “disappointed for lost opportunities from top to bottom on the ticket” for Republicans in 2012. He said he referred to the presidential race, the congressional race and others.

“But this is clearly God’s will, and we have to be mindful of all that,” he added.

Pantano declined to say whether he believed he could have defeated McIntyre this year in the new district or whether he would run again for the seat.

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